


Five Feet Apart

by Thefemalearrow



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Five Feet Apart Fusion, F/M, Hospital, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, five feet apart, sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24644638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thefemalearrow/pseuds/Thefemalearrow
Summary: Betty was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of twelve. She's planned her entire life around it. Jughead Jones was diagnosed with it about a year ago. He never took his regiments seriously. What happens when they end up at the same hospital?
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

Betty finished decorating her hospital room with the help of her bestfriends, Toni and Veronica. "I can't believe you're not going," Veronica said. "You were even the president of the planning committee for this trip."  
"I know, but this new drug could be life-saving," Betty said. "Also, I'm second in line to receive a lung transplant. So there's a chance that Kevin could get a transplant then it's my turn."  
Betty was used to missing these kinds of trips. She's been missing them since she was diagnosed with Cf at the age of twelve. From missing her 8th-grade field trip due to a nasty case of strep, or having to leave Toni's 15th birthday party because she caught a fever. Now she was missing her senior trip to Honululu because a new drug they were testing on her and a slight case of bronchitis. She kept the bronchitis diagnoses away from her overbearing parents.  
"Well Toni and I are going to be spamming your phone with photos and videos of the trip," Veronica said. "It'll be like you're there with us. So keep your phone charged."  
"I will," Betty reassured her.  
"Did you get the photo I sent you?" Toni asked.  
"Yes," Betty said.  
"Do you think that bikini will catch Cheryl's eye?" Toni asked.  
"If that doesn't catch her eye, I don't know what will," Betty said. "I don't know why you're trying to get her attention. There are plenty of good people at our school, and you go for her. She's a jerk. She's my cousin and I even think she's a jerk."  
"She's a hot jerk though," Toni said. "I'd just like to kiss her at least once."  
"We should probably get going," Veronica said. "We have a plane to catch tomorrow mourning."  
"Alright," Betty said. "Have a good trip."  
"You too," Betty said. The girls then hug goodbye and they leave, leaving Betty alone in her hospital room.  
\---  
Down the hall, Forsythe, or Jughead, Jones was getting settled into his hospital room as well. His dad, FP, and a nurse named Barb were helping him. "Your previous nurses said you weren't good with your medicine schedule so were not going to bother with leaving your medicine cart in here," Barb said.  
"Ok," Jughead said. Barb then left the hospital room.  
"I'm also going to leave," FP said. "We have a 10-65 on Blossom street."  
"Alright, I'll call you later," Jughead said.  
"I want you to take this hospital seriously," FP said.  
"Why?" Jughead said. "They said my type of Cf what I have is incurable."  
"But you can prolong your life," FP said. "If you're not going to do it for me, do it for JB."  
FP then left the room. Jughead laid in in his hospital bed. He texted Sweatpea and Fangs to come over when they got a chance. He looked out the window, he saw a couple. They were holding hands and looking happy. Jughead missed that. He had a girlfriend before his diagnosis almost a year ago. Her name was Amber, but they broke up since he didn't want her to see him get very ill.  
Jughead sighed and looked at the ceiling. He knew cystic fibrosis had taken over his life and he was never getting it back.


	2. Chapter 2

Betty was currently laying in her bed, working on her blog on her laptop. She set this blog up to blog her journey with cystic fibrosis. Threw the years, she had gained a lot of supporters. Her sister, Polly, had done all of the artwork she shared on her blog.  
One of the nurses, Kayla, entered Betty's bedroom. Betty had grown to become very close with this nurse. She was even invited to her wedding. Now here Kayla was, rubbing her belly in a way that announced that was supposed to communicate that she was pregnant. "I see a lot has changed in the past three months," Betty said.  
"I'm a month along," Kayla announced. "Do you want to feel it?"  
Betty thought for a moment. She always loved children and dreamed of being a mother, but Cf crushed those dreams. She made a promise to be the best aunt to Polly's twins though. "No thank you," Betty said. "But congratulations. I'm happy for you and Ben."  
"Thank you," Kayla said. "Now onto business. I talk with Barb and convinced her to let you keep your med cart in here for your stay."  
"Really?" Betty asked, surprised. She had requested this for the past few visits, but Barb always said no, even though Betty had alarms on her phone that told her when it was time for her to take her medicine or do her breathing treatments.  
"Yep," Kayla said. "As long as your responsible about it."  
"Thank you," Betty said.  
"Yep," Kayla said. "Is there anything I can get you?"  
"A vanilla pudding cup from the cafeteria please," Betty said.  
"Ok," Kayla said. "Also your friend Kevin checked in yesterday if you want to stop by and say hello. He's in room 310."  
"Thank you," Betty said.  
"Just remember to stay six feet apart," Kayla said. Kayla left the room and Betty soon followed. On her way, she poked her head in a room and saw what looked like a mini party going on in there. There were four people. Betty could tell who the patient was because he had a breathing tube in his noses. He had given his bed to his friends could make out. Betty shook her head and continued on her path.  
Betty arrived at Kevin's room. Kevin was laying in his bed, eating some lucky charms cereal. It had been his favorite snack since he was a child. "Hi Kevin," Betty called out.  
"Hey Betty Cooper," Kevin said.  
"How dare you not tell me you were going to be in the hospital," Betty said, in a fake mad tone.  
"You know me, I'm the king of surprises," Kevin announced. "Along with a surprising case of flu. I feel terrible, but I won't let you know unless I want you to."  
Betty chuckled at her friend's cheerful tone. He's had Cf since he was six, but he was always cheery. He was the happiness when Betty needed in her life when she had rough patches. "I'll call you later," Betty said.  
\---  
That night, Betty was looking threw her Instagram. She had just finished up her nightly medicine and her breathing regiments. Toni had posted the picture of her in the bikini with the captain 'Ready for the beach.' Betty smiled slightly and put her phone on the nightstand.  
Betty turned off the lights in her bedroom and she got into the bed. She faced the window that showed her the roof to the belling. Betty almost screamed when she saw a boy sitting on the edge of the roof.  
"Alright," Kevin said. Betty then left and went back to her room.


	3. Chapter 3

Jughead was laying in his hospital bed. Sweatpea and Fangs, along with Sweatpea's girlfriend, had left a few hours ago. Jughead never got any sleep during his first night at a new hospital, so he decided to step out to get some fresh air.  
Jughead snuck out of his hospital room. He had spotted a staircase to the roof when he arrived at the hospital. He made his way over there and waited for the hallway to be empty. He then opened the door and climbed up the staircase. Once he was on the roof, he used his shoe to stop the door from shutting and locking.  
He then sat on the ledge of the roof. It became a tradition of his to go to the roof of every hospital he went to. He was slightly disappointed to see that the view was only the highway and the small park beside the hospital. He heard someone walked onto the roof. He turned around and saw a blonde girl.  
"What are you doing up here?" she asked. "You know it's against the rules."  
"I needed some fresh air," Jughead said. "It makes me think."  
"This could make you lose your spot in the drug trial," she said.  
"What's the point?" Jughead asked. "I'm a ticking time bomb. One day I'm going to fall asleep or I'm going to collapse and never get up. People will be sad, but they'll get over it. My point is, it's just life. It'll be over before you know it."  
"If you don't want this spot, then give it up," she said. "There are people who would kill to be here."  
"My dad is forcing me to be here," Jughead said. "Apparently, he doesn't want me to die. And I don't get control of my life until next month when I turn eighteen. Even then I have cf controlling my life."  
She sighed. "I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't want you to die," Betty said.  
"Sure," Jughead sighed. "Why do you care?"  
"Because you're here for a reason," she said. "And I don't want anyone to die on my watch."  
Betty was about to leave the roof. "My name is Jughead Jones," he said.  
"Betty," Betty said, before climbing down the stairs. Jughead then looked at the sky. He thought she was pretty, but he knew he had no chance with her. It seemed she was pretty strict with the cystic fibrosis rules. 'So cf brings me a cute girl and I can't be with her', Jughead thinks. 'Great.'  
\---  
Betty arrived back in her hospital room. She was looking threw Jughead's Instagram. He lived so freely, without a care in the world. He noticed that there was a girl in some of his photos. She looked about thirteen. She must be his little sister, Betty thought.  
She noticed that about three months ago, the girl stopped appearing in the family photos. Betty found that odd. She noticed that it was almost one in the morning. She followed Jughead's account, then she put her phone on the nightstand and then laid back down. She smiled when she didn't see anyone on the roof. She then drifted off into slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Betty stepped out of the shower. She was meeting her dad for lunch at twelve. She threw on her clothes and walked downstairs. "Good morning, Barb," Betty said, as she walked past the front desk.  
"Morning Cooper," Barb said. Betty then entered the hospital's gym. She went to the treadmills and, to her delight, one was open. She stepped onto it and started going for her mourning jog. She noticed and Jughead was sitting on a window seal. It looked like he was drawing something.  
"Come to work out?" Betty asked.  
"No, I only like to workout outside," Jughead said. "Maybe you and I can go for a walk around the lake beside the hospital one day."  
"If you can find a way for us to do that while following cystic fibrosis rules, then we can," Betty said.  
"Screw the rules," Jughead said. "I'm sure just breathing near each other wouldn't cause cross-infection. And I'm sure if we held hands, we'd be fine. As long as we're not frenching, we will be fine."  
"Better to be safe than sorry," Betty said.  
"You're not fun at parties, are you?" Jughead asked. Betty rolled her eyes and puts her earbuds into her ears. She then went on with her morning jog, ignoring the raven-haired boy for the rest of her jog.  
\---  
That afternoon, Betty had a regular checkup. "It looks like your bronchitis has almost completely cleared up, but I discovered something upsetting," Barb said. After getting Betty's consent, she pulled up her hospital gown slightly. One of Betty's tube had become infected. "Luckily, we caught it before its not too bad. It's just a simple surgery we can do in about an hour."  
"Alright," Betty said. She then laid down into her bed as Barb left the room. She updated her Instagram about her upcoming surgery. She then played Bitlife for the next forty minutes. The door opened, and Betty looked up, expecting to see Barb or one of the other nurses. To her surprise, she saw Jughead.  
"You know your not supposed to be here," Betty said.  
"I know," Jughead said. "I saw on your Instagram that you were about to go into surgery, so I came to support you or calm you."  
"Thank you," Betty said. "But I'm going to be fine. It's a minor one."  
"That's good," Jughead said. "I decided I'd come and sing you the song my dad usually sings to me before surgery."  
"I didn't know you sang," Betty said.  
"I only sing on special occasions," Jughead said. He then started.  
Jughead: Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb?  
Mother do you think they'll like this song?  
Mother do you think they'll try to break my balls?  
Ooh, ah  
Mother, should I build the wall?  
Betty smiled pleasantly. His voice was very soothing and deep. She snuggled into the covers as he continued.  
Jughead: Mother should I run for President?  
Mother, should I trust the government?  
Mother, will they put me in the firing mine?  
Ooh ah,  
Is it just a waste of time?  
Jughead finished the song. Betty clapped her hands as he got up. "I'm glad you like it," Jughead said. "I should go before Barb comes back. Good luck."  
"Thanks," Betty said. Jughead then left the hospital room. Barb and a few doctors came in to prepare Betty for surgery. Eventually, they put the gas mask onto her face, and Betty went under for the surgery.  
\---  
Betty woke up a few hours later. Kayla had brought her dinner from Pops Diner. In front of her were a cheeseburger, a cup of ketchup, a basket of fries, and a vanilla milkshake. "How is my favorite patient?" Kayla asked.  
"I'm doing fine," Betty said. "Thanks for dinner."  
"No problem," Kayla said. "I was going there for my break anyway so I decided to get you an after surgery treat."  
She smiled as she began to eat. Pops was her favorite restaurant ever. If she got to chose where she ate, she would always choose Pops. Once she was finished, she threw away her trash and went to her hospital room. She found a note attached to the door. She read it.  
'Meet me at the pool at ten.'  
\- Jughead Jones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit: Pink Floyd - Mother


	5. Chapter 5

Betty was facetiming Kevin while getting ready for her date with Jughead. "Ugh, I have nothing to wear," Betty groaned.  
"Because you weren't planning for a sporadic hospital romance," Kevin said. "This is why you always packed to be prepared. I have an outfit for sporadic hospital romance, flash mobs. I even have an idle death outfit."  
Betty chuckled. "You never fail to surprise me," Betty said.  
"That's why I am here," Kevin said. "Asides, your such a rule follower. Why are you all of sudden breaking the rules for some random cutie?"  
"I guess I'm morbidly curious," Betty said. "Of course I'll still be following the six feet apart rule, but something about this boy intrigues me."  
"Girls are often attracted to mysterious boys who seem bad or dangerous," Kevin said. "I have read many young adult novels with that concept."  
"I finally found something that I can wear," Betty said. She then walked into the bathroom connected to her hospital room. She came out in a pink sweater and jeans. She only had her slides so her outfit wasn't perfect.  
"I'm ready," Betty said. "Barb has already done her night runs."  
"Ok, goodnight," Kevin said. "Facetime again in the morning so we can eat breakfast together?"  
"Of course," Betty said. She then hung up on Kevin and went to the nearest elevator. She took it to the basement that closed about two hours ago. She then went into the basement. She went to the pool and saw that Jughead was already waiting for her.  
"You look great," Jughead said. "I feel underdressed."  
"You also look great," Betty said. She then pulled her jeans up to her knees and she put her feet into the pool. Jughead did the same, but he made sure to stay six feet away since Betty just had surgery.  
"I think I might ask to keep my med cart in my room," Jughead said.  
"Really?" Betty asked. "What made you want to take your medication into your own hands?"  
"My dad sent me a video while you were in surgery," Jughead said. "It was after my first surgery. My sister, Jellybean, had bought me cookie dough ice cream since it was my favorite."  
"That was nice of her," Betty said.  
"It was," Jughead sighed. "I miss her."  
"What happened?" Betty asked. "If you don't mind me asking."  
"I don't," Jughead said. "At the beginning of every school year, the school district takes a field trip to this national park with all of the schools. I was excited to go this year because they added bungee jumping to their list of activities, but I came down with strep that week. JB recorded her doing it while yelling 'this is for you, Jug.' But her rope broke and she hit the lake hard. Her body was found three hours later with a broken neck. The GoPro had recorded two hours of footage which I couldn't watch without breaking down."  
Betty decided to reach out and put her hand on top of his. "I'm so sorry to hear about that," Betty said.  
"She wouldn't have done it if I was there," Jughead said.  
"What happened wasn't your fault," Betty tried to reassure him. "It was a freak accident."  
Jughead then sighed sadly. Betty then took off her clothes, leaving her bra and underwear on. She jumped into the water and she started swimming around. Jughead soon joined in. They swam around and splashed each other, enjoying the night. Unknown to them, a special connection was being formed between them.


	6. Chapter 6

Once Betty got back to her hospital room, she took a shower. When she was out and changed into her pajamas, she laid in her bed and saw that Veronica had tried to facetime her. Betty called back and Veronica almost immediately picked up. She was in a luxurious hotel room. "They kissed," Veronica cheered.  
"Who kissed?" Betty asked.  
"Toni and Cheryl," Veronica said. "Me, Toni, and some of the girls started playing truth or dare on the beach and Toni chose dare. Valerie dared Toni to kiss Cheryl and she complied. And it was a hot kiss."  
"It wasn't that hot," Toni said, coming into frame. "Hi, Betty."  
"Hi Toni," Betty said. "How's your vacation going?"  
"It's going great," Veronica said. "It would be better if you were here, but we're making do. How's everything there? We saw on Instagram that you had a surgery today."  
"Oh it was just a very minor one," Betty said. "They just had to disinfect where my breathing tube was. I got Pops for dinner so because of it so there's a plus."  
"Have you met any cute guys?" Veronica asked.  
"I actually have," Betty said. "His name is Jughead Jones and we hung out at the hospital pool earlier. But he's also a cystic fibrosis patient so I can only pursue him as a friend."  
"Wow that sucks," Toni said.  
"Maybe I can get with him," Veronica said.  
"Veronica," Toni said, mortified.  
"I mean, if Betty can't have him I might as well test my luck," Veronica shrugged.  
"You and Archie have been flirting with each other since freshman year," Toni said. "And then there's all of the almost-kisses you guys have had."  
Both Veronica and Toni were on the cheerleading team. Betty joined tried out during her sophomore year and actually made it, but do cf constantly messing with her health she had to drop out. Archie was on the football team, and ever since the first game of freshmen year they had been flirting with each other. "But we're not official," Betty said.  
"I'm going back to sleep," Betty said. "Goodnight."  
"Night," Toni said. She then hung up the phone and fell asleep.  
\---  
The next morning, Betty was on the phone with Jughead, telling him about her date the previous night. "I think you have a crush," Kevin said.  
"Maybe," Betty said. "But cf dictates my life."  
"I hate our lungs," Kevin said  
"Me too," Betty said. That's when some nurses and doctors entered Kevin's room. She wasn't able to make out everything they were saying, but what she did hear brought a smile onto his face. Kevin was being taken into surgery so he can get a lung transplant.


	7. Chapter 7

Betty sat in her hospital room, working on her blog while waiting for news about Kevin's surgery. Her readers were excited about Kevin's surgery and that Betty was going up on the donor's list. Betty didn't even think about that until she saw a comment about it.  
Jughead knocked on the door to her hospital room. "I saw that your friend is getting a lung transplant," Jughead said.  
"You read my blog?" Betty asked.  
"My dad sent it to me in hopes of it making me take my regiments seriously," Jughead said. "I like it. Did you do the artwork or did someone else do it?"  
"It was my sister, Polly," Betty said. "She's off at college in New York."  
"Well tell her next time you see her that I thought her artwork was good," Jughead said.  
"What are you doing in Cooper's room?" Barb asked. "You know the rule."  
"Six feet apart at all times," Jughead finished. "I was just telling Betty that I like her blog. I stayed here the entire time."  
Jughead left the hospital room. Barb then walked to Betty. "If you get a cross-infection you can kiss new lungs goodbye," Barb warned her.  
"I know," Betty said. Barb then left her hospital room and Betty went to google docs. She opened the doc that was her personal memoir. Along with her blog, she used this to document her life with cystic fibrosis. She dreamed of it being published one day.  
She scrolled down and found the page she was working on. She wrote for about an hour before deciding to take a nap. She was wearing a pink tank top and black yoga pants she didn't have to get changed. She put her computer beside her bed before snuggling into the covers and falling asleep.  
\---  
She woke up when she heard a loud commotion outside of her room. She slipped on her slides and stepped out of the hospital room. "We're losing him," Kayla screamed. She then turned around and saw Betty. "Go back into the room."  
"What happened?" Betty asked.  
"Nothing, I'll tell you later," Kayla said. She then saw something that made her cry. It was Kevin, laying dead.


	8. Chapter 8

"Kevin," Betty murmured.  
"We're losing him," Barb shouted. Kayla then walked to Betty.  
"Something in his surgery went wrong," Kayla informed her. "The lungs didn't settle well into his chest and he started to suffocate. We tried to save him, including trying to put his old lunges back in, but it was too late."  
"No," Betty repeated. Kayla tried to comfort her, but Betty ran back to her hospital room. She laid on the bed and started to cry into her pillow. Kevin was gone when he was supposed to get a new lease on life. Betty never even got to hug him.  
Jughead walked into her hospital room. "Betty, I'm so sorry for your loss," Jughead said, in a sympathetic tone.  
"He was my bestfriend and I was never able to hug him," Betty sobbed. Jughead then walked a little closer to her. He then got an idea.  
"I think it would be best if we get out of here," Jughead said. "You need to get out of here for a few hours. I'll call a Uber and well take a trip to my favorite childhood spot."  
Betty looked confused as he stepped out of the hospital room.  
\---  
Betty and Jughead arrived at Sweatwater river. A storm was starting to brew, but Jughead didn't care. "This was my favorite place as a child," Jughead said. "I came here for every birthday I've ever had."  
"Wow," Betty said. She then walked over some rocks and she stared at the river. She smiled softly. "Thank you for inviting me here."  
"No problem," Jughead said.  
\---  
Kayla and Barb were filling out the paperwork about Kevin's death. Kayla was whipping away her tears. Another nurse named Jefferson ran to the desk. "We have a car crash victim whose lungs are still intact," Jefferson said.  
"Who is next in line for a lung transplant?" Barb asked.  
"Betty," Kayla said. "We have to get her ready for the surgery."  
\---  
Jughead was watching Betty climb on the rocks when he felt a phone vibrate. Jughead turned around and saw Betty had got a text from Barb. It said she had a new pair of lungs waiting.  
"Betty I have good news," Jughead said. He didn't see anything. "Betty?"  
He ran to the edge of the rocks and saw that Betty had fallen into the lake and she was swept up by the tide.


	9. Chapter 9

Jughead jumped into the water. He looked around for Betty. He eventually saw the blonde-haired girl and swam to her. He grabbed her and pulled her to the shore.  
He then started to perform CPR. After the scariest seconds of his life, she gasped for air. He then lifted her into his arms and ran to the highway. He tried to get the attention of any cars. He eventually got the attention of a truck driver.  
\---  
There was a lot of chaos going on at the hospital. Betty was rushed into surgery so she can get a lung transplant while Jughead was checked for any infections since he performed CPR.  
Barb entered the ER after she ran some tests. "How is it looking?" Jughead said.  
"Amazingly, there wasn't a cross-infection between you two," Barb said. "But I discovered that your Cf has only worsened since you started taking the new drug. You had an allergic reaction. At most, you have two weeks to live."  
Jughead then looked at the ground sadly. He then got an idea before texting his friends and family to help set this up.  
\---  
A few hours later, Betty's surgery was a success. It looks like her new lungs settled into her well, but she was still hooked up to a breathing machine. Alice walked to her bedside. "Hey baby," Alice said. "Jughead is about to call you. Don't talk, just listen."  
Betty put in her earbuds and looked out the window. Jughead had made a beautiful light display. She had written about her always being a fan of beautiful light displays on her blog. She picked up the phone as Jughead approached the window.  
"Hey Betty," Jughead said. "I hope you like the display. It's the first one I've ever done. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to go away forever. I only have two weeks left to live, and I want you to forget about me. You're going to leave this hospital and never look back."  
Betty now had tears streaming down her face. "I want you to close your eyes," Jughead said. "I don't think I could leave if I knew you were watching."  
Betty closed her eyes as Jughead left. They knew their romance was one that could never be, but they could only hope it would be a different story in another life.


End file.
